Chinese media is agog with rumors that basketball superstar Yao Ming is all set to take the plunge into matrimony sometime this summer.

The 26-year-old Shanghai native made his relationship public with Ye Li, also from Shanghai, at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games when both appeared hand-in-hand at the closing ceremony. But there wasn't much heard after that, except that both have been pictured wearing identical rings.

Local media picked up on an anonymous posting on the NBA Everyday Website that claimed that Yao would be getting married in June in Shanghai. It cited sources within Team Yao, Yao's management group.

Members of Team Yao sent out conflicting messages as the rumor mill worked overtime, eventually getting the more conventional media hooked on to it. The question, however, still remains unanswered: Will he or won't he tie the knot?

Eric Zhang, Team Yao's chief and the 2.29-meter Houston Rockets center's cousin, categorically denied that there were any wedding plans.

"What they are talking about will not happen this summer," Zhang told Wenhui Daily. "The NBA season is still in progress and we don't even know when Yao will return to China. Something as important as a wedding needs careful planning beforehand."

Lu Hao, who looks after the domestic business of Team Yao, was ambiguous over the issue. "That is Yao's personal matter and it is not in our hands."

If he does plan a wedding for this summer, Yao will have to use all his dribbling prowes to juggle between his personal and sporting commitments.

The Chinese national team will begin its training camp in May for the World Basketball Championship, slated for August, in Japan. Before the that, the team will play a series of warm-up matches, including the Stan-kovic Continental Champions Cup in Nanjing and an one-off game with the visiting Team USA sometime in June.

(Shanghai Daily April 5, 2006)